Best Laptop-DAC interconnection

[Audio_ELF]

You ask why manufacturers don't but the same effort into all inputs; well this is multifold...

 

Basically though most DACs are a collection of IC (chips) which the designer puts together following manufacturer's guidelines. In the case of SPDIF recievers these are readily available supporting upto 24/192. For USB recievers, at least until very recently, no manufacturer has a ready designed IC which supports higher than CD quality. To get 24/96 (and higher) has required the manufacturer to use a programmable IC and either develop their own firmware or licence it from another manufacturer - this is both more difficult and more costly than just dumping a TI (Texas Instrument) IC onto a circuit board.

 

Eloise

 

[tomstearns]

Eloise, thanks again--right on point. How would I find a DAC with a good USB input? Most ads are useless for finding out the basics of the equipment on offer. Does the Arcam rDAC have a high bitrate USB capability?

 

[tomstearns]

A while back preproman suggested that I use JRiver Media Center instead of Media Monkey which is my present server. I still wonder what the basis of that suggestion was---I have experimented with JR MC and don't see anything better in the sound or track management (which is a slight issue with Media Monkey).

 

How do either of these programs control volume? Does the output from the music server pass thru the laptop soundcard and thus volume controlled there or does it go direct onto the USB buss? Would the sound improve if I use my passive attenuators on the analog output of the DAC or should I use the internal digital volume control, somewhere in MediaMonkey or the laptop?